In this Sept. 8 photo, heavy machinery works on a massive underground barrier on the Israeli side of the border with Gaza. (Tsafrir Abayov)

(Newser)
–
A senior Israeli military official on Sunday said a massive underground barrier being built along the Gaza border to defend against Hamas tunnels should be finished in a matter of months, dealing what he said would be a serious blow to Hamas, reports the AP. The Southern Command official said the structure was at the forefront of a new effort meant to rob Hamas of one of its most potent weapons. During a 2014 war, Hamas militants on several occasions made their way into Israel through a tunnel network, though they did not manage to reach civilian areas. Israel destroyed 32 tunnels during that conflict, and since then has made neutralizing the tunnel threat a top priority.

The official said Hamas is now trying to restore its military capabilities, with its primary focus on building a subterranean warren of tunnels to hide from Israeli strikes and sneak into Israel to carry out attacks in a future round of fighting. In recent weeks, Israel is believed to have begun work on a 40-mile long underground barrier expected to stretch dozens of yards deep. Work crews have been spotted digging trenches and installing infrastructure in the ground. The official said the new wall will defend Israel's border with Gaza both above and below the ground. The army's goal, he said, is to turn the underground battlefield into a "death trap" for Hamas. "It will take time to build it. It's a big project. But it is a main goal," he said.

If Israel wanted to get rid of Hamas, they should stop stealing Palestinian land and calling it Israel. Killing Palestinians with American taxpayer dollars is not helping either. So all Americans should be looking at this underground wall and know they are paying for it, while the roads and bridges in their own town are falling apart and they have nothing to say about it, because the American congress is in the pocket of AIPAC, that association of Jewish American businesspeople who takes from the USA to give to Israel. None of this is right and it has to stop.

johnthropic

Sep 27, 2016 1:20 AM CDT

I'm not smart, so correct me when I am wrong. Israel has and has had a embargo on Palestine for a long time.

TrumpClinton Stinks

Sep 26, 2016 8:02 PM CDT

No need to build a deep wall, just hire out of work politicians and have them fill the tunnels with gas.